So the most Evil survivor player ever used his grandma to get ahead. This maneuver already saved his buddy Burton and kept the power in Jon’s control. Brilliant? Scummy? Timely certainly. Whatever you think, do you think he “cheated”? I say it’s borderline, but I’m leaning towards cheating. He planned this deceipt weeks perhaps months before the game started, working outside the game and allowing his friend (who is not a contestent) to impact the game. But then again, certainly Jeff knows the secret and didn’t throw Jon out. So perhaps technically it isn’t cheating. What do you think?
Does Jeff know the secret? I would assume he does, but maybe he is only given the information that the survivors themselves are given, lest he let his own biases affect his treatment of certain players.
I don’t think it can be called “cheating,” so long as there’s nothing in the rules (which I don’t know for certain) saying that having an outsider lie on your behalf is forbidden. Contestants are obviously allowed to lie, though.
Jeff knew. Did you see him smirking when he asked Jon what the news was?
It wasn’t cheating, it was a brilliant maneuver.
I’m sure he does, seeing as if there really HAD been a death in the family I’m sure the producers would have officially notified everybody who needed to know, including Jeff.
I guess it’s not against the rules because Jon’s still in it. It’s dirty and underhanded and just flat-out wrong, though, even by Survivor standards.
I think Jeff has to know, just by the look on his face. It’s clearly obvious that he dislikes Jon … and he’s definitely not the only one. 
I hadn’t thought of what Jon did as cheating until I saw it brought up here … underhanded, sure. Low, sneaky, and all those other words that imply he’s a complete ass. I just can’t believe he did that, and then swore on the woman’s grave about something later in the show! I would never do that, simply for fear that my grandma would die because I did it!
Now that I’m done rambling, I don’t think it was actually cheating, it was planning ahead–like taking a survival course or learning how to fish before heading out. It’s was one of the most despicable things I’ve ever heard of, but I don’t think it was cheating.
I just can’t wait till the reunion, when everyone else gets their chance to tell him what they think of it!
At first I was thinking Jeff was an asshole for smirking - I saw it too. Then the reveal.
I wouldn’t call it cheating either though I could see how someone might think it was. It was interesting how Tijuana said something along the lines of “that being outside the game.”
I dislike Jon, but I don’t think it was cheating. I’m almost tempted to call it brilliant, but I think the risk/reward is too high. He really didn’t get that much from it, and if it ever comes out that he lied, he’s done.
I really wonder what the rest of the players will think when they come back. Some will be pissed, but I bet some will think it was pretty strategic.
I read somewhere - maybe at David B’s? - that there were only 2 basic rules. No physically harming another contestant, and no agreement to split the $. If that is the case, whatever else you want to say about Jon’s gambit, he didn’t cheat.
IMO - it was fucking brilliant! Perhaps the best move I’ve ever seen by a contestant. I still hate the weasel, but I respect the hell outta his planning and execution.
I don’t think Jeff knew at the reward challenge itself. I assume the only way he could learn it was after the producers reviewed the tapes of Jon’s alone-time with his friend.
I wouldn’t presume to think I’d be perceptive enough to figure out Jon’s bullshit, but it must seem suspicious. He implied that his grandmother would have been coming to the reward challenge if she’d been alive.
The grandmother of a 29-year-old, fit enough to be trekking to Panama to visit Jon, yet frail enough that Jon would ask his friend about her health? Dodgy business, that.
On another subject, I remain deeply in love with Darrah. I want her to dump Bradley and show me how to do it in a coffin.
Guarantee that JP knew about Jon’s deceit at the tribal council. If nothing else, you know the camera operators were talking about it back at production camp, and Probst works very closely with those guys, as evidenced in the original “Survivor” book.
Did Jon cheat? Not even a little bit. Is he a complete smarmy jerkoff who doesn’t deserve to win the big money? Absolutely.
But time will tell.
I’ve only recently and (at first) begrudgingly been sucked in to Survivor, but I have to say, that was THE SINGLE COOLEST move I’ve ever seen!
I don’t much like Jon, but after that stunt, I hope he wins- he completely deserves it, just for making me laugh so hard.
Oh, God, I hope, I hope that there will be another challeneg involving family members.
I will scream with delight if Jeff announces, "And competing with Johnny Fairplay: his dead grandma!"
The thing that I would most like to see is Jeff and everybody else completely ignore him at the reunion. It doesn’t matter how much people are pissed at him, he’s going to eat up the attention. I just hate to think of the enjoyment he’s going to get out of being the center of attention.
But it ain’t cheating. Bringing that sour puss Lill back into the game? That was cheating.
Fill me in, I just read the summary at the website, and didn’t see the show.
what I don’t get is how they would have planned this in advance.
what was the convo between Jon and friend “pre-survivor”?
“If you come to the island for a quiz, let’s pretend my grandmother died. It might prove to be useful.”
I suspect pre-show information from the producers.
They wouldn’t have known that it would be up to contestants to make other’s “loved one” walk the plank. It seems a little too convenient.
I suspect I’ll need one of these… :smack: when someone fills me in, but I’m not seeing the whole picture.
[for instance, did they get the rules of the reward game and then get to have a sneaky conversation?]
As soon as Jon’s buddy walkd up, they hugged, and Jon said, “How’s grandma?” The friend said something sensitive like, “She’s dead, man.” During the challenge, Jon said something like, “There are a million questions I’d like to ask my friend about my grandma.”
Once Jon won, he and his buddy got the camp to themselves, while the others roughed it at another location (which i thought was wierd.) The first shot of Jon and friend had them complimenting each other’s acting ability.
They did not show anyone else asking how she died, or Jon laying any groundwork earlier talking about his sick granny.
In my mind, Jon needn’t have won the challenge for the grandma lie to work out in his favor. There are only two scenarios:
1) Jon lies about Dead Grandma (“DG”) and wins challenge.
In the past, winners of the “Family Reunion” challenges have also won other prizes. IIRC, Colby from “Survivor: Outback” won a Pontiac Aztek for he and his mother to sleep in for the night.
No comments on whether or not receiving a Pontiac Aztek qualifies as a “prize.” :rolleyes:
2) Jon lies about DG, and doesn’t win challenge.
Some players might look unfavorably on another contestant showing up Jon, as it’s in his best interest to learn more about DG. This puts the onus of blame on the person that wins, as they didn’t throw the match to help out poor, poor Jonny Fairplay. This ensures that the next person voted off won’t be poor, poor Jonny Fairplay, and WILL instead be the person that “heartlessly” denied him the chance to learn more about his DG.
I hate Jon. I hope he’s voted off at the earliest convenience.
Still, you must assume they planned “DG” before filming just in case something came up where it was useful. . .
And it just so happened that the perfect scenario turned up for the DG story to work so well, that is, OTHERS get to decide who wins. And who stick it to the guy with DG.
I haven’t watched much survivor – is there a reason to suspect that having the pity of fellow contestants would be so useful?
I don’t recall how Colby won his reward, but I don’t ever recall things being so in the hands of other contestants.
The producers have mingled before. I wouldn’t put it past them here. It at least made for some exciting ads, and some viewer interest in having a contestant lose.
[what will be funny is if during the next Survivor, all 12 of them show up with dying grandmothers.]
In other seasons, when the Loved One shows up, the reward is for them to stay for an overnight visit, so Jon knew ahead of time that the reward would most likely be the same this time around. He and his buddy planned this in advance, on the chance that Jon would make it this far in the game. I think that somewhere they put down the name of who they want to come*, and he put his buddy’s name. Then when his buddy showed up, and told him Grandma died, and Jon made that comment about how it was supposed to be the Buddy or Grandma, I bet there were some quick calls made to find out if Grandma really died or not.
I know damn well (well, not really, but you know what I mean) that Jeff knows Jon’s grandmother didn’t really die.
What I find interesting is that the others had to go elsewhere for the night. Other times, they all stay together, to sort of rub it in that they didn’t get to see their own Loved One. I wonder if they found out it was a lie right away, and sent the others to the other island just to get Jon and his friend alone so they’d cop to it all being bullshit.
*Tangent: Ever notice the really good-looking guys always have their mom come? Colby, Burton… I know there have been others.
Damn, I meant to reply to this, too. I read somewhere (maybe on this board) that for the filming of the next installment (the All-Star version) everyone showed up in 3 layers of clothes. They were all afraid of being stranded in just the clothes on their backs, like in this version.